Four aid workers were killed by a gunman riding a motorbike in northern Afghanistan today, officials said. Three female employees of ActionAid International and their male driver - all of whom were Afghan - died when the gunman pulled alongside their vehicle and opened fire, Khan Ahmdar, the governor of Jawzjan province, said.Shanaaz Khan, a spokeswoman for ActionAid International, which is based in South Africa, confirmed the attack but did not give further details. The aid organisation works with local groups to promote education and healthcare and fight against hunger and poverty. Its mobile health teams in Afghanistan travel to remote villages to treat women. ... http://www.guardian.co.uk

Jurors who spent the past four weeks listening to John Allen Muhammad question witnesses and argue that he was framed for the Washington-area sniper attacks began their own deliberations Tuesday morning. Muhammad, acting as his own attorney at his second trial in the deadly shootings, told the jury in his closing argument Friday that he was only in the Washington area to search for his ex-wife and children. He said government agencies planted evidence and collaborated to pin the crime on him and teenager Lee Boyd Malvo. "My case is based on one thing. It is very simple. They lied on two innocent men," Muhammad said. Prosecutors told the jury that Muhammad carefully planned and carried out the shootings with teenage accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo, who implicated his former mentor for the first time on the stand. Both men had previously been convicted in attacks in Virginia, and Muhammad was sentenced to death there. ...http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2019488

The Supreme Court on Tuesday made it harder for government employees to file lawsuits claiming they were retaliated against for going public with allegations of official misconduct.By a 5-4 vote, justices said the nation’s 20 million public employees do not have carte blanche free speech rights to disclose government’s inner-workings. New Justice Samuel Alito cast the tie-breaking vote.Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, writing for the court’s majority, said the First Amendment does not protect “every statement a public employee makes in the course of doing his or her job.” The decision came after the case was argued twice this term, once before Justice Sandra Day O’Connor retired in January, and again after her successor, Alito, joined the bench....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13047151/from/RSS/

East Timor's President Xanana Gusmao is taking control of the country's national security and defence in a bid to defuse mounting unrest. Emergency powers would give Mr Gusmao control of the army and police, split by internal disputes and gang violence. Mr Gusmao, a highly respected former guerrilla leader, also assumed sole charge of coordination with the Australian-led peacekeeping force. His move comes after fresh violence and looting hit the capital, Dili. Mr Gusmao said the decision to impose emergency rule, which would last 30 days, had been taken in "close collaboration" with Prime Minister Mari Alkatiri. Mr Alkatiri has been blamed by other members of the government for failing to stop the violence, which was triggered by the government's sacking of hundreds of troops after they went on strike. ...http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5029794.stm

The House is examining whether the FBI’s raid on a lawmaker’s office violated the Constitution even as Senate leaders are backing off their criticism and the Bush administration is negotiating guidelines for any such future searches.For all of the shifting landscape, House Judiciary Committee Chairman James Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., a loyal White House ally, made his position clear with the title of Tuesday’s hearing: “Reckless Justice: Did the Saturday Night Raid of Congress Trample the Constitution?”The hearing comes more than a week after the FBI conducted an overnight raid of the offices of Rep. William Jefferson, D-La., as part of a bribery investigation, without giving House leaders advance notice. House Speaker Dennis Hastert and Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi issued a rare joint statement last week protesting the raid as a violation of constitutional separation of powers protections....http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13046814/from/RSS/

The Spanish government, fed up with the national reputation for not speaking foreign languages, will give young people up to 1,000 euros, or $1,300, each to study English.Prime Minister Jose Luis Rodriguez Zapatero homed in on his country’s linguistic failings in his annual State of the Nation address to parliament on Tuesday, in which he announced the subsidy for people aged from 18-30.“I have set myself the task of overcoming our traditional shortcomings with regard to languages,” said Zapatero, who cannot speak English but once tried his uncertain French in an address to France’s National Assembly. ...http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/13046316/from/RSS/